facilitate urban photography

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Installation : Final Major Project

MA in Photography, Falmouth University, Module 5

Figure 1

Working with a local PR firm, Edwin Ellis, for two months, I covered a shoot to raise the forthcoming exhibition and begin to build the personal story. We had agreed on the final wording of the subsequent release and a sample of images from my website portfolio to differ from the exhibition in part.

The release, I felt, read well and was a rounded view of the project and my background, fig 2.

Figure 2

I was able to retweet the use of the release thus, figs 3, 4;

Figures 3, 4

Brumpic used the released onto Twitter ahead of What’s On and that may explain the greater degree of retweeting and likes on those platforms.

I used the Brumpic coverage as a link alongside the invitation in circa 60 emails sent out on 24th May (the day before the new GDPR rules applied), thus;

Figures 5, 6

LinkedIn, numerically, provided the widest penetration, with 1,150 views of the invitation and 202 views of the subsequent media coverage, also posted. A sample of the analytics shows the type of people viewing the initial post, with 77 in very senior roles, fig 7.

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

I made a rare return to Facebook and my company page to promote the exhibition and, figs 10, 11 – I obtained a reach of 143 people with the invitation and 48 via the media coverage link.

Figures 10, 11

Finally, I have had 50 digital printed square cards to give out to people I meet face to face preceding the exhibition, fig 12.

Figure 12

Post Script

On 28th May the local BBC social media account (Twitter and Facebook) picked up the media coverage which was welcome, fig 13

Figure 13

Post-Post Script

The Birmingham city region Chambers of Commerce published its newsletter on 30th May and included the media release which I have Tweeted and placed onto LinkedIn.

Post-Post-Post Script

I note that the Birmingham Post, the weekly ‘business’ focused paper that covers the city-region gave the exhibition a whole page coverage (31.5.2018, pp28) which I tweeted, pasted into Facebook on my business page, fig 14 resulting in a reach of 365 (which is circa triple my previous most viewed page) and also on Instagram, fig 15.

Figures 14, 15

In Summary

I see the media work as the key to the promotion and communication of the exhibition via all channels I am active upon. I was compelled by the gallery’s more muted response, so ploughed on solo. The results are acceptable, but not exceptional and this area remains a focus for future development.

Notes

All data was reviewed on 27.5.2018 (with the exception of more recent updates)

Practice Development : Final Major Project

MA in Photography, Falmouth University, Module 5

Figure 1

The breadth of the MA comes into play when, in learning how to write proposals to potential clients, I created a real one for the Birmingham Civic Society (see snap-shot Notes below) early in 2017. This was a detailed proposal to ‘shoot’ the Victoria statue in the eponymous square at the heart of Birmingham’s civic quarter. It proposed accessing the work, which is quite elevated, and creating composite images at full scale and exhibiting them in a gallery space as an appreciation of the sculptor’s detail and a more ‘democratic’ a way of seeing that is ordinarily denied.

All went quiet until an invitation to make images from the scaffold that had been erected for a cleaning process, part-funded by the Civic Society, came to me.

I was thus able to spend two hours at three different levels of the scaffold in May 2018, figs 1-6.

As the images could be of local interest I appointed Edwin Ellis Media to create text and link with the communications team at the Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery (appointed to oversee the works) and the Civic Society. The amalgam of the texts was then issued as a press release, fig 7. Whilst all the copyrighted images were available via a link, the one chosen by the comm’s teams to headline (not my favourite) was used by social media and the Birmingham Post newspaper.

I was pleased with the social media activity, for example, fig 8, there were 9 retweets, 17 likes and 2 comments.

The key here was deliberate mention of the Pause Project and the forthcoming exhibition. I have always believed that a story builds, it rarely works with only one mention in the media, so the strategy here is to launch the exhibition on the basis of this mention.

I used a photograph of the half-page article in the Birmingham Post, page 11, 10th May 2018 in my social media via Twitter and Instagram.

Figures 2-6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Notes

All images by Philip Singleton

The overview of the proposals made to the Birmingham Civic Society in 2017.

During this module I have been developing my activity on social media and I present a number of highlights here;

figure 1

I have increased my Instagram following to 356 by judicious selection of imagery and hashtags. This remains, evidentially, my principal point of exposure.

Figure 2, 3

I use two Twitter accounts, one focused on wider professional groups and the other specifically on my photographic practice and interest. I have increased followers to a combined total of 1,687. I aim to increase the followers on my photographic account.

Figure 4

I have a Facebook account for Facilitate Urban Photography as a practice page. Not only can I track and compare ‘likes’ for each post I am able to note the ‘reach’ i.e. the exposure of each activity. In the case of figure 4 it is 139.

Figures 5, 6

I have been active also in LinkedIn, not least because this is a different and wider network of people (I have 2,450 plus connections) but also my new agent is active on here as well as all of the above services. The useful pages on this platform allow you to analyse a breakdown of the exposure of a ‘post’, in this instance, figures 5, 6 there are 76 with a CEO/Executive Director job title that have viewed the entry. This may prove more fertile as I develop my marketing strategy further in 2018.

Surface : Exhibition Time

As my part in Landings2017, the peer group international work in progress exhibition first day dawned on 11th August I arrived with my hanging kit (drill, plugs, screws, brass hooks and dust-sheets) at Opus Restaurant in Birmingham.

The planned 4 areas of wall had been cleared in readiness for my 4 framed prints; 2 at A2 and 2 at A3. Al matching the original measured and photographic survey I had undertaken.

I created a guidance sheet for the restaurant staff to give to interested parties and customers. This provided a context, title (The Pause Project) and details of the printing and the decision I made following discussions with one of my tutors David Ellison about getting the pitch right. I also provided a labelling guidance sheet as the restaurant wanted to use their house style to label each (although on a revisit I had to reposition these correctly!). Each print is limited to 3 with one artist’s proof. The only other available format would be postcard size published as my self assembly photobook (see separate post). I took advice on costs and value for sale and pitched sale prices accordingly.

I asked a restaurant team member to use my camera to capture the proprietor and I in front of the two principal prints.

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 1 shows the simplest print hung on the visually most striking backdrop of Spanish wallpaper. Figure 2 is against a grey wall above the waiting counter and Figure 3 on a mustard coloured wall which worked well with the two principal prints.

Before leaving I posted on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. The responses were positive; I was pleased with the coverage. LinkedIn showed 2,170 views (as of 14th August 2017). Facebook had a reach of 804 with 23 likes, 2 comments and 4 shares. Samples are shown, figure 4

The restaurant tweeted the picture from its own account on 14th August.

Figure 4

Learning: planning, negotiation and communication paid off. Paying attention to lighting (noting this is not a gallery venue and hence lighting is at times problematic with reflections being evident) and colour were strong defining factors when deciding what work to display and where.

Figure 5 shows the text of the guidance note printed for the front desk of the restaurant.